


Closeted Feelings

by Hanelli



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Brotherly Love, M/M, Matthew's just a mess, Red Day shenanigans, and another one's doing it all wrong, but the happy ending will come, someone gets rejected, surprisingly Al's the mature one, there's angst at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-21 02:19:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13731051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanelli/pseuds/Hanelli
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day, but for a certain individual, how was he going to confess without being ever so awkward about it?





	Closeted Feelings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paladinquen (postmodern_robot)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/postmodern_robot/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lars is unable to properly confess (hell he's been trying for the past 2 years now) and decides to try with chocolate... what happens?
> 
> (Also, surprisingly Alfred isn't such a jerk in this; but Matthew sorta is. Wonder why...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Léa - Belgium; Lars - Netherlands

**2018.02.11; 3 days to D-Day**

Why did he like putting everything off until the last-minute?! What was it with him and rushing things, anyway? He didn’t know why, but he was lucky to have scored the last packets of baking chocolate in the shop he’d dropped by, albeit the shop clerk had grumbled in his direction that he was cutting it way too close to the ‘rush’ that was Valentines’ Day; also known as ‘Red Day’ among the student body.

He’d even gotten a rather cheeky leer from the shopkeeper about last-minute presents and had given him a couple of molds half-price for him to make use of once he’d gotten home. Once his purchases had been wrapped up—and he’d been all but shooed out of the store—he then made his way back out on the streets and began skirting his way through the crowd. He could see a lot of people as giddy as he was, running around and making last-minute purchases for the special occasion coming in a few days, and he couldn’t blame them at all—everyone wanted the fourteenth to go off without a hitch.

To be honest, so did he.

After brushing some stray bangs that were falling into his line of vision, he looked up and continued to make his way back to his apartment—he’d agonize over all the details in private later. 

* * *

**2018.02.11; Brotherly Conversations**

“Why are you so uptight about the fourteenth, anyway?”

That was the question that Matthew had asked his younger brother, Alfred, as the other was busy running around the kitchen in a panic. While he’d already purchased all of the obligatory chocolates that he was going to hand out in a couple of days, Alfred had insisted on making his own chocolates.

“Alfie, brother, you’re doing it wrong. Most of the obligatory chocolates, you buy. Why’re you making all of yours?” he continued, watching as his brother continued to rush around the place, trying not to melt down and cause a disaster. “I’m all set to go on that day, but you’re losing your head over something so small and trivial.”

“Mattie, bro, you don’t understand, I really want to leave an impact! Which is why I’m making it all from scratch!” the younger blonde exclaimed as he ran over to the boiling pot on the stove so he could stir the melting chocolate without risking it burning for staying on the fire too long.

“Alfie, how many times do I have to tell you, you’ve got it reversed? You only make the chocolate for the one you want to confess to! Don’t tell me you have someone in mind already?!” he exclaimed, watching as his younger brother turned around to glower at him with an embarrassed blush on his face.

“Sh-shut up, Mattie! I’m not like you, you’re oh-so-completely oblivious when it comes to acknowledging your own feelings for other people! Admit it, you’re just scared because of what happened to you before…” Alfred retorted, not realizing he’d overstepped a line in the process. He then grew silent the moment he remembered what he said, before muttering a hasty apology and returning his attention to the chocolate he was melting.

 _Maybe he does have a point… but… I would rather think not…_ the older of the two pondered to himself after listening to his brother’s tirade (yet again). It was a very sore topic for Matthew, at the very least when romance or anything similar to it was mentioned; which was why he tended to avoid it altogether. But he couldn’t help himself, though—how come this guy from another class kept on, well, trying to talk with him? He’d already made it very clear he wasn’t interested in him…

“…Alfie, do you think…” Matthew began, staring at the table while gathering his thoughts. “…do you think that exchange student…” he continued to mutter, biting his lip as he tried to find the right words to say.

“Bro, I already told you once, I’ll tell you again: **quit being dense**. Honestly, it’ll get you into more trouble than you’re asking for…” Alfred trailed off, holding the wooden spoon up before sighing and attacking the mound of melting chocolate in the pot. “I find it weird that I’m the younger between us, but you’re the one having problems like this. ‘s kinda weird, you know…”

“…I know, I know I’m weird, _shut up,_ ” Matthew retorted as he then stood up from the table. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

* * *

**2018.02.13; Tension in the Air**

“Hey, Keeks! I… I have a question for you,” Alfred called out, once he’d spotted his friend through the crowd of students. They didn’t share as many classes together as they could’ve, so talking to him in the hallways was the next best thing.

 _“Hai, Alfred-san, what is it?”_ the Japanese exchange student asked, stopping in his tracks to allow the other to catch up with him. Once the loud blonde had come in view, Alfred then blurted out the question without even thinking, “Keeks, did I get it wrong? Mattie told me that the handmade chocolates are the ones you’re supposed to give to your friends… or is it? Or did I remember this all wrong again?”

That earned a bit of a smile from the other, before he replied, “You got it wrong, you know. Your older brother is correct—the handmade chocolates are supposed to be for the person you want to… well, confess your feelings to. Everything else is the obligatory chocolates that everyone gets handed. Don’t tell me you did—” he trailed off, watching the coloration on Alfred’s face drain.

 _ **“I—what?! Seriously?!”**_ was all he could exclaim, before the other student nodded and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, speaking of which, your brother’s here, I must go,” he muttered before giving a small bow and leaving Alfred to turn around right in time to avoid crashing into Matthew.

“See, Alfie? I told you so. You got it all wrong,” he began with a teasing grin on his face, to which Alfred responded with a very pointed eyeroll. “Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in, geez… at least I have a lot of chocolates to eat later… wait, why’re you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in--?”

“I know, Alfie, but that’s not the point, I just wanted to talk to you about… well, remember what we talked about a few days ago? Guess what… he dropped by my class again! And this time he even talked with Carlos, so I definitely think he’s trying to stalk me!”

“What? No way, bro? He talked with Carlos? What for?!” Alfred asked, wiggling his eyebrows in Matthew’s direction.

“I don’t know! Hell, when I asked him about it, Carlos only gave me a look that said ‘it’s for me to know and for you to find out’ without even telling me what it was about! I don’t know, Alfie… _things are getting weird around here…_ ” he groaned, running his hands through his hair. He honestly had no idea why the freakishly-tall guy frequently came by to talk with his classmates before hurriedly leaving the scene whenever Matthew would catch him around the area.

Seriously, what was with him?!

* * *

**2018.02.13; 2 hours before ‘Dawn of the Final Day’**

_“Sister, do you think I’m doing it wrong?”_

The video call was on, and he was busy typing up an assignment that he had to turn in the following day. Never mind if his visits to Matthew Williams’ classroom were becoming more and more frequent, he was trying to get the courage he needed so that he could do what he was planning to accomplish tomorrow! While he’d heard from most of the students that ‘Red Day’ was when people swapped chocolates with each other, he knew that there was at least a significant difference when it came to store-bought chocolate and handmade treats.

 _“Well, this isn’t the first time you’ve tried doing this, right? What’s stopping you now?”_ came the reply from his sister over the video call. While it was pretty late for Lars, it was early morning over in Belgium—he was lucky to catch his sister Léa before she’d left for her university classes. _“I know you’re nervous. I mean, it’s pretty damn obvious…”_

 _“You think?”_ he continued, typing away as he added onto the essay he was trying to cram for the next day. _“I don’t know if he’ll actually take the chocolate, you know. It was hell looking for the cheapest block I could find!”_

 _“Seriously… seriously, Lars? You’re going to make chocolates, and then you use the cheapest kind?! If you’re really hell-bent on ‘confessing’ to him,”_ she continued, using ‘quotation marks’ as she emphasized the word ‘confessing’ before smacking her palms to her face out of sheer annoyance, _“…you should’ve gone all-out and used something much better! **Don’t tell me you nabbed the discount chocolate?!** ”_

 _“What? **Is it so bad for me to try and save money?!** ” _he countered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the camera as he continued to type away, before realizing that half the paragraph he was working on was wrong. Huffing to himself as he highlighted and erased what he’d written, he then sighed before continuing, _“You know I’m living on a budget here! It’s hard enough as it is, and I have to try and keep my scholarship! That leaves me with little to no time to look for a part-time job,”_ he grumbled as he snorted and began rewriting the paragraph he’d crossed out.

 _“Yeah, I know you are. It’s just that… do you really have to take your frugality that far? Seriously, brother… seriously…”_ she tsked, shaking her head and chuckling for a few moments. _“Anyway, I have to go now, do you have anything you want me to tell Henri?”_

 _“Well, just tell him I said hi, and to keep his nose out of other people’s business. You know how incredibly nosy he can get…”_ he grumbled as he then waved with one hand before eventually disconnecting the call. Sighing, as he knew that he might’ve messed up, he then turned his attention to the small box that contained the chocolate he was going to give Matthew the next day.

 _I hope nothing too bad happens…_ he thought to himself as he rubbed the sides of his head as he returned his attention to the essay he needed to finish.

* * *

**2018.02.14, ‘D-Day’**

Both Matthew and Alfred, along with the rest of the student body, had turned up to school carrying large paper bags full of the obligatory chocolates they needed to give out. While Alfred had gone to join his classmates (and was seeking out his friends in other courses), Matthew had mostly distributed his chocolates to his classmates as well as teachers he’d met throughout the day.

He’d even managed to give some to Kiku as well, and had a laugh with the Japanese exchange student as he told Matthew what Alfred had been up to, having eaten most of the chocolates he’d made the night before (and was now literally distributing handfuls of Kisses chocolates to his friends instead as some kind of weird compensation). After they’d exchanged the obligatory friendship chocolates, Matthew then made his way back to his homeroom—only to be stopped in the hallways by the person he was secretly hoping to avoid.

It was Lars Wilhelm van den Berg, the tall Dutch weirdo who’d stalked his classroom every single chance he could get for the past two years now. Hell, he didn’t even know why the guy had spoken with Carlos and Paolo (as well as everyone else he could approach without scaring them off in the process). Was he asking about information on him?! Who knows.

“W-well, fancy seeing you here. What do y-you want… are you…” Matthew began, stammering for a few moments before managing to pull together his best impression of a glare, looking the taller one down as a pair of light-green eyes stared at the light purple that were now boring a hole right into him. “What, i-is there something on my face?” he stammered out, suddenly running a hand over his own features to check for whatever blemishes were there—which were of course, nonexistent.

Now that Lars had finally managed to corner Matthew Williams, he’d lost the ability to articulate properly, and had settled instead for staring at the slightly shorter one, clearing his throat several times before eventually reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, giftwrapped box.

“Cat got your tongue?” Matthew continued, now looking at him and observing the other’s actions with a curious light in his eyes. Just as he was about to skirt around the other and return to his classroom, he then felt something being pushed into his hands. Blinking at the sudden action, he then looked at the other, before staring at what was being shoved into his hands—and felt a wave pf panic rising up inside him.

 _No. Oh, no. No, no, no, no! What the hell is this?!_ He thought in a panic, before looking at the other—who was now avoiding having to look at Matthew directly. Lars was waiting for the other to accept the gift he’d made for him, his ears turning red as he waited for something—anything—to come from his intended recipient.

 _“…I’m sorry, I—I… I can’t accept this,”_ Matthew finally managed to say, once he recognized the package in his hands. “I—I would really want to, but… I c-can’t. I—I hope you understand…” he said, before dropping the box in the process and making a mad sprint down the hall towards his classroom; the better to put as much distance between himself and the strange one as fast as humanly possible.

It had taken a few moments for Lars to comprehend what had happened—a few seconds ago, Matthew Williams was right in front of him; and then when he’d thought to blink, the blonde had vanished. He thought all had gone right until he looked down and saw that the giftwrapped box he’d tried to give the other had fallen there…

_**What had he done wrong?!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 will come out on White Day, which is on March 14! The happy ending will be there, so don't worry so much about the initial rejection!


End file.
